Help?

[cpharr]

I know this sounds really negative but I would really appreciate some positive feed back to pull me out of my funk!
thanks!




I seem to have alot of questions about SVT and having an ablation and I'm hoping some of you who have had the condition and procedure done could help me out(by the way,I have SVT and am scheduled for an ablation).First of all-is having SVT the same as having heart disease(my dr. calls it heart disease)?If SVT is benign and only scary as apposed to being "dangerous" why do people get ablations?What kind of shape should you be in before surgery i.e what if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol?Will having the surgery lower your BPM-what should your beats be normally-is having SVT what makes mine high in the first place-Will it lower your blood pressure?Also-if after the surgery you still cant have caffeine or alcohol or stimulants and in most cases people have to stay on their meds or even have the procedure done several times-then why put your self through such a process with so many risks if  your quality of life isnt going to change?
  I know these questions seem crazy(I just had a baby 2 weeks ago-can I blame postpartum hormones?)However-I met a lot of other people with SVT on another sight for moms who are very negative about the procedure and its got me thinking-Now I'm starting to get scared about the procedure-I just had a C-section surgery 2 weeks ago and it was very scary for me-I dont know if I'm ready to get back on the operating table so quickly.

[banglamom]

If the SVT isn't crippling your life, your Dr. should be ok with your wanting to just watch it or just medicate it at least for a while.  For a long time, I was opposed to any invasive interventions.  I was impacting daily life enough, that it was time to get it done.

I'll save you the details like Brooke_38, but now after 3 ablations and a pacemaker... I am willing even to go for an open heart if it would make a difference.  The ablations weren't really too bad.  It is not NEARLY as big as a C-section, but you don't get a baby out of the deal either.  Congratulations there.  If your conductions problems are making it difficult to deal with daily life, the ablation just might help.  Done in a day and then walk away.  It was too tempting to pass up.

Blessings to you and I hope you get your questions answered.  There are questions resolved and lots of encouraging comfort here.

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

First, congratulations on the birth of your baby! As for SVT, I think that when your Dr referred to it as heart disease, it is considered a disease of the conduction system. When you hear "heart disease" it can be scary but in your case it is the electrical conduction that is "diseased" Many people opt for the ablation because while you are correct in saying it is "benign" it can impact your quality of life.

Having high cholesterol or high bp is not a deterent or contraindication for an ablation procedure. Having the procedure should not have any significant impact on your resting heart rate. It blocks the circuit or closes down an accessory pathway (fast pathway) which allows SVT to be triggered. As for your BP, it should not lower your blood pressure. Many people do not have to stay on meds if they have a successful ablation. It is par for the course to take aspirin 325mg for about 6 weeks. If there is no recurrence of SVT (many people are cured the 1st time around and SVT ablation's success is about 98%) The risks from the procedure is estimated to be about 1%. I think that's pretty low.

My history is far from the norm, so I would not even count myself as part of the statistics. But, I have made it through 5 EP Studies and 4 ablations...I'm still alive and kickin'

A C-section carries far more risks than an EP Study/ablation and is considered major abdominal surgery. Many people walk into the hospital the morning of their study and walk out that very evening. In the end the choice is yours...Never say never:) When are you scheduled? Maybe if you gave yourself some time to recoup from this you may feel better about going through with it.

Good luck and keep your chin up:)